1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a construction machine, such as a hydraulic shovel, provided with a pump suction pipeline for connecting between a hydraulic pump and a tank disposed anterior and posterior to a partition plate.
2. Description of the Background Art
The background art is described by an exemplified hydraulic shovel.
As shown in FIG. 6, a hydraulic shovel is provided with a crawler-type lower propelling body 1, an upper slewing body 2 slewably mounted on the lower propelling body 1, and a working attachment 6 attached to the upper slewing body 2. The working attachment 6 includes a boom 3, an arm 4, and a bucket 5.
The upper slewing body 2 is provided with an upper frame 7 serving as a base for mounting the working attachment 6 thereon, a cabin 8 loaded on the upper frame 7, a guard member 9, such as a guard panel, which is provided at a rear portion of the upper frame 7, vertical plates 11, 12, and a partition plate 13 provided on the upper frame 7, an engine 14 provided behind the partition plate 13, a hydraulic pump 15 to be driven by the engine 14, a hydraulic oil tank 16 provided on the front side of the partition plate 13, a pump suction pipeline 17 for connecting between the hydraulic pump 15 and the hydraulic oil tank 16, and a hose holder 23 for supporting the pump suction pipeline 17. An engine room 10 is disposed between the guard member 9 and the upper frame 7.
The hydraulic shovel is described by using front and rear directions, and left and right directions, based on the premise that the position of the cabin 8 is set on the left side and on the front side of the upper frame 7.
As described in detail in FIG. 7, the left vertical plate 11 and the right vertical plate 12 extend in the front and rear directions substantially over the entire length of the upper frame 7. The partition plate 13 extends in the left and right directions in such a manner that the partition plate 13 intersects with intermediate portions of the vertical plates 11 and 12 in the front and rear directions.
The space above the upper frame 7 is divided into a front section S1 and a rear section S2 by the partition plate 13. The engine room 10 is disposed in the rear section S2.
In the rear section S2 (in the engine room 10), there are provided an engine 14 which is disposed along the left and right directions, and a hydraulic pump 15 which is disposed on one of the left and right sides (normally, on the left side, hereinafter, an example is described based on the arrangement that the hydraulic pump is disposed on the left side) of the engine 14, and which is driven by the engine 14.
The cabin 8 is loaded on the left side (on the side where the pump is installed) in the front section S1. The hydraulic oil tank 16 is installed on the side (on the right side) opposite to the cabin 8 in the front section S1. The hydraulic pump 15 and the hydraulic oil tank 16 are connected to each other by the pump suction pipeline 17.
Many other parts and devices are disposed in the front section S1 and in the rear section S2. However, since these parts and devices are not related to the present invention, description thereof is omitted herein in FIG. 7.
Conventionally, the pump suction pipeline 17 is provided with a flexible pump-side hose 18 connected to the hydraulic pump 15, a flexible tank-side hose 19 connected to the hydraulic oil tank 16, and a non-flexible connection tube 20 (a metal pipe such as a steel pipe) for connecting between the hoses 18 and 19. The pump suction pipeline 17 is disposed along a path from the hydraulic pump 15 to the hydraulic oil tank 16 while passing the left side (below the cabin) of the front section S2.
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the disposition of the devices, and the path of the pump suction pipeline 17.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the partition plate 13 is formed with a partition-plate-side through-hole 21, and the left vertical plate 11 is formed with a vertical-plate-side through-hole 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the hose holder 23 is adapted to fix the intermediate portion (the connection tube) 20 of the pump suction pipeline 17 to the partition plate 13.
A prior art document showing a construction machine equipped with the conventional pump suction pipeline 17 has not been available so far. However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-257333 discloses a related art having a pipeline which passes through a partition plate of an upper frame in the similar manner as described above.
In the construction machine equipped with the conventional pump suction pipeline, as described above, the pump suction pipeline 17 is disposed in such a manner that the pump suction pipeline 17 extends forward from the left side of the rear section S2, is entered into the front section S1, is bent rightward while passing below the cabin 8, and is connected to the hydraulic oil tank 16. Accordingly, the dwelling environment in the cabin 8 may be deteriorated resulting from heat release or vibrations from the pump suction pipeline 17.